28/06/2025
What happened to the last maid? Nelly's heart pounded, but it was too late. As Michael spoke, her trembling fingers had already brushed the plate's edge. The moment her skin made contact, the leather pouch beneath her uniform grew scorching hot. She gasped silently as dark energy pulsed through her veins.
Michael grabbed his plate, but something was wrong. His confident stride faltered. His hand began to shake uncontrollably. The plate slipped from his fingers, crashing to the floor in a explosion of ceramic and food.
"What... what's happening to me?" Michael stared at his trembling hands in horror.
Wealth, his assistant, rushed in. "Oga, the Chinese investors are waiting, and... Oga, your nose is bleeding."
Michael wiped his nose, staring at the crimson on his fingers. His eyes found Nelly's, and for a moment, he looked like a frightened child. "You... what did you do to me?"
"I don't understand, sir," Nelly replied innocently, but her grandmother's voice whispered in her mind: "The curse works fast, child. But remember – you have 30 days to complete it, or it will turn on you instead."
Helen appeared in the doorway, her face pale. "Michael, you're bleeding from your ears too. We need to call a doctor."
"No!" Michael shouted, then immediately looked confused about his own reaction. "I mean... I'm fine. Nelly, clean this up."
As Nelly knelt to gather the broken pieces, she whispered under her breath, "One down, twenty-nine to go."
But as she stood up, she noticed something that made her blood freeze. In the reflection of the broken ceramic, she could see Michael's face – and it was smiling. Not the confused, frightened expression he wore, but a cold, knowing smile that didn't belong to him.
Something else was in that house. Something that had been waiting for her.
Michael's phone rang. Unknown number. He answered with a voice that wasn't quite his own anymore.
"Hello, Nelly," the voice on the other end said. "We've been expecting
